Overall, I thought the Kite Runner turned out to be a very
engaging and entertaining book. I really liked the way the author was able to
evoke emotions in the reader through character interactions. I also thought
Hosseini built tension extraordinarily well. For example, the opening paragraph
already has you asking questions about Amir’s past sins. There were parts in the Kite Runner that were
simply riveting such as Baba’s confrontation with the soldier and Amir’s final confrontation
with Assef.
Furthermore, I think Hosseini does an amazing job of
developing the characters throughout the novel while telling a stellar story at
the same time. The characters in the Kite Runner are believable and change
throughout the course of the story. They each have personalities, virtues, vices,
and fears. I liked the fact that Hosseini presents Amir as a multifaceted protagonist.
There are points where the reader may hate Amir with a passion and moments when
you forget all about his past actions and acknowledge him as a good person who
makes mistakes like everyone else.
I thought that the interesting dynamic between Amir and his
father add a fundamental context to the story that makes the book work very well.
Interestingly enough, Amir spends a good deal of his life trying to live up to
his father while simultaneously trying to be the opposite of him. Baba really
was the most believable and likeable character in the Kite Runner in my opinion
and it was interesting to see him interact with Amir due to his completely
different personality. Unfortunately, I think Baba was quite right in his
predictions that Amir’s cowardice would mean his demise. Indeed, it is Amir’s
cowardice that leads to Hassan’s rape and therefore a plethora of other
problems for Amir’s mental health as I am quite certain living in a state of
perpetual guilt cannot be healthy. I think Hassan cannot really be blamed
entirely for his actions, making the story all the more difficult to read. As a
reader I felt that my emotions were often ambivalent to what was happening in
the plot. I see this as a sign of good storytelling because even if I often
loathed certain characters by the end of the novel I knew that I really cared
what happened to them.
Hosseini is also apparently a master of plot twists because
the news that Baba was both Amir and Hassan’s
father really surprised me. If there was anything I disliked about the Kite
Runner it is that a lot of Amir’s time in America was rather tedious to read. The whole Soraya storyline seemed both rushed
and drawn out at the same time. I
attribute this to the fact that Amir really didn’t know Soraya that much at the
time of their marriage but admittedly this has to do with the fact that Amir’s
culture is one radically different from my own. I think that Hosseini really shows
the reader real Afghan culture. He does this through masterfully vivid
descriptions that capture the reader’s attention. For example, a lot of the
chapters of Amir’s childhood really captivated me and made me feel like I was
there. By contrast, when Amir returns to Afghanistan it was really devastating to
read how much it changed for the worse due to the Taliban’s influence. I think
Hosseini does a fine job of showing that just like certain characters, afghan
culture is multifaceted. Amir himself comments on some of the negative aspects
of Afghan culture such as fewer rights for women. Additionally, Hosseini really
exemplifies the drastic changes in Afghanistan in such a short period of time. The Kite Runner really was rather
heartbreaking to read at times and at other times infuriating to read. Hassan’s infinite loyalty and humility certainly
made him a lovable character but also made me question if one can really be too
loyal.
I
thought that the ending of the Kite Runner could have been a bit happier but it
really all came together quite well. The
lead up to Sohrab’s lopsided smile on the final page was quite painful to read.
I think maybe Hosseini reintroducing
Assef as the man that abuses Sohrab was probably taking things a bit too far. Things
just seemed to get darker and darker as the story progressed but it all really
amounts to exemplary storytelling on Hosseini’s part.
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